'Scary to Go to Work': White House Races to Contain Virus in Its Ranks
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is racing to contain an outbreak of Covid-19 inside the White House, as some senior officials believe that the disease is already spreading rapidly through the warren of cramped offices that make up the three floors of the West Wing.
Three top officials leading the government’s response effort began two weeks of self-quarantine after two members of the White House staff — Katie Miller, the spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence, and one of President Trump’s personal valets — tested positive. But others who came into contact with Ms. Miller and the valet are continuing to report to work at the White House.
“It is scary to go to work,” Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to the president, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday. Mr. Hassett said he wore a mask at times at the White House, but conceded that “I think that I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home than I would be going to the West Wing.”
He added: “It’s a small, crowded place. It’s, you know, it’s a little bit risky. But you have to do it because you have to serve your country.”
The discovery of the two infected employees has prompted the White House to ramp up its procedures to combat the coronavirus, including daily tests for some senior staff, increased usage of masks and more rigorous screening of people entering the complex.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/10/us/politics/white-house-coronavirus-trump.html
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